Fountain Vaucluse: The Town

8k away form L'Isle Sur La Sorgue is the source of the Sorgue, a spring that is said to be the 3rd largest in the world. We expected to find a big spring with a creek running down the hill. Instead, the spring emerges from the base of a huge cliff...and the town at its base is at least as interesting as the spring...

In the little town, an 11th century church that is far more
interesting than most Romanesques

Because it incorporates not just the design of
the Romans but some re-cycled Roman columns
as well

And some other carved blocks that might well have been
Celtic

But not this one; our ancestors were not doing this sort of
thing in the 11th century!

In the town, restaurants, shoppes, and hotels all around; 1.5
million visitors annually, barely noticed in some of the guides

And what's this column?!

A tribute to the 14th century Italian humanist poet Petrarch, who
did some time here...

Founder of humanism, first modern mountain climber, and
many other things (he coined the term "Dark Ages")...I
remember reading his ascent of Mt. Ventoux when I was a
freshman in college...and understanding little...the "inward"
turn of humanism was his...

His house; now a museum

700th anniversary

Pretty town

Looking up high toward the cliff, caves

Ruins up high

Now back from seeing the spring: the wheels, which powered
seven giant paper mills along this river, centuries ago

One remains which has been made into a museum

And after the museum, a long gallery of shoppes

L'Isle Sur La Sorgue, 2

Continuing our visit to the Sunday market at L'Isle Sur La Sorgue...

Drawer-knob district

You saw it here first: the latest French food fashion: bugs! low
in cholesterol, glutens, trans-fats...original or crispy

Tomato burgers

Vintage paisley shirt district

L'Isle Sur La Sorgue, 1

We've seen our share of French markets, but L'Isle Sur La Sorgue was by far the best ever, so far. Actually, it is two markets, an antique/brocantes market, which made the town famous some years back, together with its hundreds of antique shoppes, and its weekly market, which adjoins the brocantes market. All this occur on street after street, quai after quai, in the beautiful little town that has been arranged around the Sorgue and the several channels cut from it. The market, which the local authorities clearly vet to allow no crap, very nearly obscures the beauty of the town itself. Alas, I have taken so many pix of French markets I got a late start on this one, and then the gawking precluded the picture-taking. So the pix will not do it justice. You'll have to see it for yourself!

The market is on Sunday, but we arrived on Saturday and did a little reconnaissance;
above, the church

Church interior

Pigeon along for the ride

Confiseur=gold

There is an ample aire by the train station; but get there early and plan on leaving
late: the parking lot fills with vendors

The last of my Bouzique oysters

Next day: garlic district

One of the canals of the Sorgue channeled through the town; market on both sides

Water wheels all over; we found out why when we got to Fountaine Vaucluse

Door hardware district

Key fob district

Early version of Skinner Box?

Main drag through town; the market goes on for a kilometer, and then into many
streets and alleys in the old town

The market nearly obscures the beauty of the town itself